Elevate Your Grilled Cheese Sandwich

A childhood favorite goes upscale with these 5 delicious additions.

One of my favorite childhood lunches was a grilled cheese sandwich. My sister and I walked home for lunch from school and if the stars aligned, Mom had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup waiting for us. Heaven!

They weren’t fancy as they were made with processed cheese singles on homemade white bread. But they were so good. Now, even though I profess to be an adult — I still occasionally sneak a slice of processed cheese into a grilled cheese sandwich.

Don’t judge — I know you have your own guilty food secrets.

But I’ve elevated my grilled cheese game. Try one of these options in your next grilled cheese sandwich (and why not today?) You won’t go back to your old ways. And don’t worry about crazy additions like mac and cheese — we have to draw the line somewhere.

5 Delicious twists for your next grilled cheese:

1. Raisin bread. I just saw your eyebrows shoot up. Trust me on this. Spread salted butter on the outside of raisin bread and tuck pretty much any kind of cheese inside. You get the hint of sweetness and light salt and it is actually my favorite bread for a grilled cheese sandwich. So there.

2. Goat cheese. OMG. Tangy, creamy, soft goat cheese takes your sandwich to new heights of goodness. It should only represent about 1/3 of the cheese.

3. Basil leaves. If you’re a basil fan like I am — then place 3 little basil leaves onto the top of the cheese before grilling. I like it best with smoked gruyere.

4. Mango chutney. Spread a little of this exotic delight onto the inner surface of your grilled cheese (before grilling) and enjoy its sweet and mellow tanginess. It’s easy to find at your grocery store and I purchase the chutney made in the UK. It’s also excellent on a roast chicken sandwich.

5. Sauteed onions. I know, I know, I’m getting weird on you. But caramelized onions in a grilled cheese sandwich bring it to a new level of sin. And if you were to throw a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar into those onions while they were cooking — I wouldn’t tell anyone.

Last but not least. Two rules.

First rule: Cook on medium-low heat to make the best grilled cheese sandwich. You can flip the sandwich back and forth as you’re looking for the perfect golden-brown crust.

Second rule: Butter only, please. I use salted butter because that’s the way I roll. Margarine has no place on any kind of sandwich. Some people use mayo on the outside of the bread so we may have to forgive them too.

Thanks for reading! I have loads of food essays (delicious recipes too) and thoughtful and quirky simpler living essays waiting for you. (Well over 100 of them!) And this story caught the attention of NBC News in New York!